bit hard to talk about what I do with dimitri since its changed over the years after ive gotten used to drawing his face. But lets talk about what i used to do and what I do when im trying to develop a new character
With dimitri I used to always draw his face completely and then i would draw his beard connecting from his cheeks and would measure the bottom of his chin down to where I want the length of his hair to be
At some point i got tired of drawing his entire chin because i got sad that i had to erase it every time XD so i just started to get used to the length of his jaw and where his hair would normally end.
The idea with Dimitri tho is usually this:
figuring out how "tamed" his hair is at the time adds to his own character and can add to other characters as well as how you tell them apart
Due to him trying to keep his beard Tamed but doing it poorly with his non dominant hand, He shaves his neck and keep his cheeks leveled but dosnt do much with the rest of it, hence why i make the stache part of his beard hang over his lips slightly.
I often like to just copy pasta when playing with new styles
Its also important to me to remember that more hair = more volume so if its suposed to be a thin cut or something thats been growing for a while it will come off from the cheeks more
I realize i dont have many "Steps" when drawing but I supose it helps that I do most of that thought prossess when Im doing major characters Ref sheet
I ususally just copy visually and like i said- after drawing him for 3 years i just start to figure out where his jaw is to cover it with fur XD
this is prob also why some of the characters in the comic who arnt main characters sometimes look a little funny if they have facial hair XD maybe one panel it seems shorter then it was before.